Deal With the Devil
by Velgamidragon
Summary: Anime canon compliant. After being rescued from Okita by Conan, Akemi found herself rescued from police custody by the Organization and brought before Gin. She was proving to be a liability to the Organization, so she took a chance and made a deal with Gin to let her and her sister leave the Organization forever, but for a price. Gin had no intention of letting Sherry go so easily.
1. Promise Made

**Author's Note: I recently (just this weekend) discovered that Akemi's one-billion-yen bank heist was not only a lot different in the manga compared to the anime, but WAY earlier. So early, in fact, that _that_ bank heist happened within the first 20 episodes of the anime. Granted, the end result was different, so maybe that Akemi Miyano with the alias Masami Hirota wasn't the SAME Akemi Miyano with the alias Masami Hirota that is also Shiho Miyano's sister? Nah. I decided there was no way there could be THAT many coincidental similarities and it had to be the very same Miyano Akemi that is Shiho's sister.**

 **I wrote this with the assumption that the Akemi Miyano from episode 13 (14 for English dub) is Shiho's Akemi and used that assumption to interconnect with the future bank heist she'll pull off in the anime at episode 128. I realize she staked out that bank for a year, but I'll also work with the anime's "time seems to have stopped moving" logic and use that to my advantage. Having already been saved by Conan once already, this now gives her some time to eventually tell Shiho about "the four-eyed glasses brat" later. I'm surprised that I haven't found any fics that have already done this or wrote out a scene where Akemi works out the deal with Gin to let her and Shiho leave the Organization. Well, now I've written one.  
**

 **Disclaimer: The characters and world belong to Gosho Aoyama-sama, and I am merely playing around with concepts and ideas.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Promise Made**

From the moment Akemi Miyano, under the alias Masami Hirota, allowed herself to be arrested for her part in the one-billion-yen robbery planned by Okita, she wondered how the Black Organization would respond to this. It was unthinkable that they didn't already know what had occurred and that she, the elder sister of one of their best scientists, was involved. Okita would probably be dead within twenty-four hours; there was no other alternative. The Organization did not like any unnecessary connections and his having found one of their members, low-ranking as she was, and recruited her was not something the Organization would tolerate.

But then where did that leave her? Okita was at fault for finding and recruiting her, but the Organization would also find _her_ at fault for allowing the connection and not protecting the Organization's secrecy. It didn't even matter that Okita had no clue of the Organization's existence or her part in it; it was the principle of the thing. She offered nothing of use to the Organization in exchange for knowledge of its existence, and she only had even that much because her parents were scientists in the Organization. Worse still, this robbery arrest would be the second strike against her. First, she had been the means by which her boyfriend and undercover FBI Agent, Dai Moroboshi aka Shuichi Akai, had infiltrated the Organization, and now this.

Akemi felt her hands starting to shake and clasped them tightly in her lap, but she could hardly focus. She didn't even notice the dull pain in her left shoulder from the gunshot wound anymore. People didn't _get_ second chances in the Organization. Much more valuable, higher-ranking people than her had been killed for less on their first chance. She suspected the only reason _she_ had survived was because of Shiho's own high-ranking position in the Organization. But now she'd lost her unheard-of second chance and she didn't dare hope they'd give her a third. Like Okita, she would be killed off and the last loose end would be tied off.

The idea of being killed didn't scare her nearly as much as she felt it should. No, it was her little sister's fate that scared her. She would never see Shiho again and she couldn't even know that they would tell her the truth of why she died. Or even that she _was_ dead.

She was startled from her thoughts by the voice of the officer driving the car. At first, she thought he was talking to her, but then she realized he had a phone next to his ear. "Yeah, I got her, no problem. The disguise held up well; none of the other cops even noticed a thing."

The dull throb of fear that had been steadily building within her every second spent in the car suddenly spiked through her heart and she quickly glanced around at her surroundings. She didn't know where she was, but it didn't look anywhere close to the Tokyo police headquarters.

"Yes, sir. We'll be arriving there in approximately ten minutes," the fake police officer said and hung up on the call.

"Who are you and where are you taking me?" Akemi demanded immediately, and she hated how much her voice trembled when she spoke.

"I am merely your designated driver tonight, Miss Akemi Miyano," he said curtly.

Akemi failed to completely stifle her sharp intake of breath. That was her real name, but she had been arrested as Masami Hirota. Her suspicions were correct. The Organization _did_ know and they must have worked very quickly to be able to secure her before she ended up in police custody. It would be a lot of work to bail her out, or more likely kill her, in such a situation, and she wasn't worth that much effort. Judging by her driver's short answer to her questions, she wasn't likely to get any more information out of him, but it seemed likely that he wasn't high-ranking himself. He was just doing the grunt work of bringing her out of the eyes of the police under another's orders. She had a pretty good hunch who was issuing said orders. _He_ seemed to have a personal interest in her family that she didn't care for…

It must have been only ten minutes later, though it felt longer, before the Organization driver stopped the car and Akemi saw that he had taken her to an old, decrepit-looking apartment complex closed for demolition. Well, at least it wasn't another set of warehouses. She only wondered if she would get to see who killed her or if she'd be sniped off as soon as she approached the building.

The driver didn't turn off the car, but turned around to face her. "Now that we have arrived, I am to relay a message. You are to go up the stairs to the second floor and enter Room 24. The door is unlocked."

"And you won't tell me who the message is from, I suppose?" she asked rhetorically.

The driver only gave her a nasty smirk in response. With a resigned sigh, she got out of the car and the fake officer left as soon as she did so. Either she really was going to die tonight or someone else would be taking her home, and she liked neither option, but there was no escaping her fate. She took the stairs up to the second floor and walked all the way to Room 24 as instructed. There was no name on the door plaque, but of course there wasn't. The building was abandoned after all. She placed her hand on the door handle and hesitated for a few seconds, trying to calm her breathing and not let on how scared she was. She hadn't even been this frightened when Okita had pulled the gun on her. But Okita wasn't the Organization and the man waiting for her behind this door, if she was right, made Okita look like an angel by comparison. Well, maybe not an _angel_ exactly, but it was to that effect…

Unable to delay any further, she turned the door handle and stepped inside. Except for the narrow strip of moonlight shining past her from the door, there was no other light on within the dark interior. None, that is, except for the orange-red embers burning off the end of a cigarette.

"Close the door and lock it," a dark, masculine voice ordered from the direction of the fiery pinprick of light.

A shiver ran down her spine, but Akemi did as she was told, plunging the room into total darkness and sealing herself inside without any hope for escape. A match was struck and the small flame half-illuminated the sharp, angular face of the most dangerous man she knew. There was a candle within an open-top glass container on the kitchen table he was sitting at, and he reached over to light the wick. The flame caught and it illuminated the rest of the kitchen, including the presence of a second chair directly across from the man's own. There were still plenty of shadows though and the tiny candle did nothing to mitigate the ominous atmosphere.

"Welcome, Akemi Miyano," he said with a gesture to the only remaining chair. He seemed… amused somehow.

"Gin," Akemi said by way of greeting and, not seeing how she'd be able to tactfully refuse, sat on the very edge of the proffered chair. "I suppose I have you to thank for the timely rescue?"

"Oh? Is that what you would call it?" Gin asked, leaning back in the chair. "From what I heard, the mastermind of your stupid little robbery scheme was already unconscious by the time the police arrived and you were planning on turning yourself in for the crime, apparently without any plan or intention to escape. It hardly seems a 'rescue', as you put it, was even necessary to judge by your apathy over the situation."

Akemi swallowed hard. "Indeed. You sure know a lot about what happened at the scene given that it was not even half an hour ago."

The amusement died suddenly in his dark green eyes and he stood up quickly. He easily towered over her when they were both standing anyway, but now while she was sitting, he seemed impossibly tall. "And did you honestly believe that we would forget or _forgive_ that you were the one who let that FBI scum into the Organization? We've been keeping _very_ close tabs on you since your folly was revealed," he hissed.

Despite her situation and the uncertainty of her future, hot anger surged through her on her ex-boyfriend's behalf. "It's not like _I_ was the one who decided to give him a codename," she snapped before she could stop herself.

Akemi immediately knew she had gone too far. Gin was a blur of movement and she suddenly found herself with his handgun pressed firmly into her forehead. She hadn't even seen him draw it. His lips twisted into a cruel smirk, his expression full of malice. "Those are dangerous words you speak, Akemi," he said in a menacing whisper, "With all the trouble you cause the Organization, one might think you had a death wish."

"If that's how you feel, then why _haven't_ you killed me, yet?" she asked, her words a lot braver than she actually felt. "It's not like you to be so merciful, Gin."

His smirk widened into a predatory grin. "At first, we allowed you to live on the off-chance that your troublesome boyfriend might try and contact you again just in case his relationship with you had any validity, but it's been nearly two years since then and not a word." He chuckled darkly. "I suppose you were just a means to an end after all."

It wasn't true. She _knew_ it wasn't true. Dai would not have told her to stop seeing him and would not have told her it was because he was an undercover FBI agent in the Organization if he hadn't loved her. His lack of contact was as much for his safety as it was hers, but to hear Gin so callously talk of their relationship and toss her feelings aside… it played on her worst fears and hurt all the same.

"I suppose I was…" she said sadly. The emotion was genuine even if not for the reason she allowed Gin to believe. "And what about now?"

A steely glint appeared in his green eyes and he pressed the gun even harder into her forehead, forcing her to shift further in her chair until she was pressed against the wooden back. "I haven't decided yet," Gin said at last. "I should kill you on principle, so that other foolish members don't think they can get away with throwing away their precious _second_ chance in the Organization, but then I started thinking… what would _Sherry_ be willing to give me in exchange for sparing her beloved older sister's life?"

"NO!" Akemi screamed in pure terror. "Please, I beg you, leave Shiho out of this; your quarrel is with me, not her!"

"Oh ho, now where was this concern for her when _you_ were dating Shuichi Akai or when you allowed yourself to be hired for a one-billion-yen robbery and then captured by the police?" Gin asked with a mocking laugh.

"As if you even care about my sister! You're just worried about her exposure to me compromising the secrecy of the Organization!"

"Akemi, Akemi, Akemi… 'worried' would imply I waste time thinking about something so trivial, but I'm kinder than you think. As a favor to Sherry, I am willing to spare your life as long as _she_ is willing to return another in exchange. Is that not acceptable?"

"No, it's not!" Akemi shouted and tried to stand up, but Gin's gun was still pressing sharply into her forehead and she was effectively pinned. "I'd rather die than live and let you use my sister however you please!"

"How sweet," he said sardonically. "I can easily arrange that and then you'll be able to protect her _so_ much better from beyond the grave. I'm sure Sherry would happily agree with that logic."

Akemi forced herself to bite her lip and keep silent for a moment, breathing deeply. She was getting too riled up and Gin was intentionally provoking her by bringing Shiho into the conversation. What she couldn't figure out was why. Now that she was thinking straight, it was obvious that he had no intention of killing her tonight unless she did something really, _really_ stupid to piss him off, or else he would have done so already. He was not the kind of man who toyed around with his prey before killing it. He was letting her live, but he wasn't letting her off the hook. It could be he really _did_ want something from Shiho – he was completely obsessed with her for some reason – but she had a feeling he was just using Shiho as a threat against her. Granted, threats from Gin were nothing to scoff at and he would definitely make do on it, but what did he want from her that he was threatening Shiho in the first place?

"There you go, Akemi. Now you're using that brain of yours," Gin purred, his eyes narrowed dangerously like the predator he was.

He removed his gun from her forehead at last only to pin her wrists to the seat of the chair with his own large hands and lean down into her space so their faces were only mere inches apart. She fought not to gag on the cigarette smoke now in her face.

"You have screwed up twice now, Akemi. First with Shuichi Akai and now this bank heist. If you were anyone other than a daughter of the Miyanos, you wouldn't even be in the Organization, and only your connection as Sherry's sister has kept you alive as long as you have because of your mistakes."

"And you think I want to stay? As you say, I was born into the Organization and never had the chance to choose whether I wanted to join or not. If I'm such a burden and the Organization is only tolerating my life on Shiho's behalf, then why not let me go?"

Akemi was surprised, _very_ surprised, that Gin said nothing, but merely gave her a skeptical look. Her words were downright treacherous and yet, he hardly reacted at all. The idea had come to her out of the blue, but now it had latched on and she couldn't let go of it. This might be it. She might be able to get out of all this madness.

"Despite being given two perfectly good reasons to do so, the Organization has not been willing to kill me, so wouldn't the only other recourse to get rid of someone be to let them leave? I'm so low in rank within the Organization, I hardly know anything. I only know it exists, its color, and a bit of a general idea what it does. I don't know any of the Organization's secrets or contacts, and of the codenamed members, I only know you, Vodka, Pisco, Bourbon, and my sister."

"That's rather a lot for someone who 'hardly knows anything'," Gin said slowly.

"Is it really though?" Akemi asked, her tone borderline impatient. "As much as I know you think otherwise, I'm not stupid. I know that if I were to blab any of the little I _do_ know, the Organization would silence me and I have no wish to encourage that kind of scrutiny. I just want to be left alone to live a normal life. I'm not useful to the Organization, my existence is apparently a threat to its secrecy, and I don't have the ability or willingness to reveal any sensitive information anyway, so why keep me around?"

A triumphant smirk immediately spread across his thin face and Akemi had the distinct feeling that she'd walked right into a trap. She stayed stock still as he leaned in even closer, his long ash-blond hair brushing against her cheek and his breath blew hot across her ear. "We can make that happen if that's what you truly desire, but only if you cease any and all contact with Sherry from the very second we rid ourselves of you. Are you willing to forsake Sherry for your freedom from the Organization?"

She couldn't. She couldn't just abandon Shiho to these murderous black crows, to Gin… But she also couldn't make the same case for Shiho's freedom as her own.

"And what would it cost me to buy _Shiho's_ freedom from the Organization?" she said at last in a quiet, but no less determined voice.

Gin pulled back and observed her face. His eyes were scrutinizing her as if he could see every thought running rampant through her head. She couldn't gage what he was thinking at all.

"To start, there must be monetary compensation. If Sherry is to leave, the Organization would be losing out on the products of her work and Sherry's work is not something that can be easily replicated by just anyone," Gin said at last with no vocal inflection to indicate his emotions.

She didn't need to hear the exact number to know it was going to be outrageously high. Still though… "How much?" she asked.

A slight smirk creased his lips. "Let's use your most recent mistake as the standard. A one-billion-yen bank heist. Only this time, _you_ will be the mastermind orchestrating the events to ensure your success."

"One billion-?! But that's-!"

"-That's the monetary cost you must pay forward," Gin said coolly, his voice back down to a dangerous whisper. "Take it or leave it, but know this: if your heist fails, I will kill you personally, Sherry's sister or not."

The rest of Akemi's words died in her throat and she nodded once. "I understand," she said shortly and narrowed her eyes at him. "What else do you want?"

The dark chuckle that escaped him did nothing to calm the growing sense of unease in the pit of her stomach. He released one of her wrists and idly caught a long strand of her black hair near the collar of her shirt. "Something only a woman can provide."

"No," she said automatically, internally reeling with disgust. She had not slept with anyone since Dai and there was no way she about to start with this psychopathic murderer now.

"Then Sherry stays," Gin said simply.

"Isn't the money enough?" Akemi protested. "That's an obscene cost as it is, why even include such a stipulation? I was never under the impression you wanted me; aren't I too low-ranking, at-risk, and generally unimportant for your tastes?"

" _You_ are, but _Sherry_ isn't," Gin said.

"Sherry…?"

 _Finally,_ he stood up completely and she could breathe without inhaling smoke. He released both her remaining wrist and her hair, but he remained close. Gin walked in a circle around to behind the back of her chair and his hands landed heavily upon her shoulders. She gasped when his left hand squeezed painfully on her wounded left shoulder. "As her precious, protective older sister, you won't let me have Sherry, but if you intend to take her away forever, then my final demand is to have you in her stead until your heist, regardless of its outcome."

Akemi's eyes widened in horror and her mouth clamped shut. She understood now. Everything was becoming clear. Shiho. It all came back to Shiho. He didn't give a damn what happened to her as long as she didn't reveal the Organization's existence, but Shiho was another matter entirely. Gin wanted her sister and he was not willing to let her go easily. These conditions that he was laying out for her… The high overhead cost of one billion yen from a bank heist was designed as an impossible physical hurdle and allowing him to have her body was designed as an equally-impossible mental one. This would be her punishment for leaving the Organization. If she balked at one or both, then Gin would win and Shiho would be forced to stay in the Organization. Akemi was not supposed to succeed. But… but if she… did as he requested… on _both_ counts…

She shrugged his hands off her shoulders with difficulty and stood up from the kitchen chair. She turned to face him, and though the candle being at her back cast her face in shadow, she felt Gin would still be able to make out her determined expression. "If I do this… if I successfully steal one billion yen in a bank heist and let you have my body at your leisure until then, will you promise to let Shiho and I leave the Organization?"

Gin crossed his arms in front of his chest and sneered snidely down at her. "If you can succeed, then I promise to let you leave," he said.

"Fine," Akemi said sharply and started removing her red jacket. "Then why don't you get started on me right now, so I can prove my sincerity in committing to this plan?"

She had just gotten one of her arms out of the jacket and was working on the other one when Gin's hands came up and caught her around both wrists, stopping her. She looked up at him confused, but he only smiled darkly down at her, shaking his head slightly. "Woman, while I fully intend to take you up on that, I will not do so here without any protection on hand. I will not risk you bearing my spawn since I doubt you're on birth control at the moment."

Akemi's face flushed deep red in mortification, but he didn't remark on it. He released her right wrist and put out the candle on the table with his fingers, completely submerging them in pitch black darkness once more. The cigarette was once more the only source of light in the whole room. Gin tugged sharply on her other wrist, the one attached to her injured shoulder, and she stumbled after him in the dark, almost running into his back when he stopped abruptly. Akemi had no idea how he was able to see where he was going or what he was doing; the light from the cigarette wasn't _that_ strong. There was a click of the lock and moonlight suddenly spilled back into the apartment room once more. She barely had time to admire how much lighter it seemed compared to before she entered the apartment when he hauled on her injured arm once more, dragging her after him down the walkway and down the stairs. She was completely clueless about where he was taking her until she saw his Porsche parked under a shadowed overhang that she hadn't noticed before.

The dread and horror she had been fighting down ever since she had committed to this course of action started to rise up into her chest and it was literally taking every ounce of strength and every memory of Shiho she had to not try and break free from Gin's grasp and make a run for it. She didn't _want_ this and she was certain Gin had absolutely no intention of trying to make this pleasant for her. In fact, he would probably be aiming for the opposite. He was going to rape her and she was going to let him do it in order to free her sister. This was her punishment for her mistakes and for trying to leave the Organization, but she would endure it. She had to. She had to for Shiho's sake.

They approached the driver's side door on the left side, but Gin didn't move to unlock it yet. Instead, he tugged her forward and she found herself spun around with her back against his car and pinned in place by his own large form. He forced her chin up to look at him and she trembled at what she saw there. His teeth were bared in an evil grin and his eyes were wide with manic delight. He twisted upward the arm he still hadn't released and she flinched from the building pain in her shoulder. Death would be a far kinder punishment than the one he had in store for her, yet she had no choice but to bear it.

"Just remember, Akemi," he whispered in her ear, quiet as death. "You _asked_ for this, but I won't deny how much I'm looking forward to it. Let's see _exactly_ how far you got with Shuichi Akai before he revealed his true colors."

Akemi's heartrate picked up even faster than it already was and her breathing grew shallower. Her throat was almost too dry with fear to speak, but somehow, she managed to get some of the words out. "Shiho… please don't tell…"

"Sherry will never hear from _my_ lips just how low her esteemed sister has sunk as long as you keep your foolhardy plan to yourself," he promised.

With that, Akemi had only a brief moment's reprieve as Gin unlocked the car door and opened it. It was gone the next moment when he shoved her forward into the back seat and followed after her, closing and locking the door behind him.

* * *

 _No, I don't have it in me to write out the details of what happened to Akemi in either this chapter or the next one. It's bad enough just imagining it._


	2. Promise Broken

**Author's Note: There wasn't supposed to be a chapter 2. It was originally all one piece. I'm alright with using multiple perspectives in one chapter as long as the distinction is clear, but then I realized that the tones of the two different sections were also too different, so I had to break it apart. Unlike the last chapter, this one actually has sexual foreplay (no actual sex though) because GinSherry is my guilty pleasure ship and my fingers wouldn't stop writing.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Promise Broken**

Akemi Miyano was a stupid woman. That was Gin's first thought as soon as he finished watching her close her apartment door behind her. He was back on the highway driving to his next destination and only the slight scowl and the drumming of his fingers against the steering wheel indicated his agitated emotional state.

She honestly thought she could escape the Organization and live, that her sister could do the same, and that he intended to keep his word _if_ she succeeded. She should know better, but she had always been a naïve, optimistic, trusting fool. That was how Shuichi Akai had gotten to her in the first place and he had no idea what she was even thinking letting herself be recruited for a bank heist she had no business being a part of. _Was_ she even thinking? And it was those exact same traits that made her think she could both make the deal that she had tonight and that it would be honored. Akemi had no business being in the Organization and was a liability that they could not afford to keep.

Gin's brow furrowed even further. She was a stupid woman, but a dangerous one. She was not dangerous the way that Vermouth and Chianti, or even Kir and Sherry were, but only because she didn't realize just how much influence she had over her sister. He wasn't the only one who saw it and that was why the Boss had allowed Akemi to live as long as she had and why she wasn't dead now. Akemi's potential use to the Organization was been known to be limited even from the time she was a child, and that had continued to be the case when she reached adulthood. She had been someone to keep an eye on, but otherwise harmless. Harmless, that is, until Sherry had returned to Japan from her schooling in America and reunited with her estranged sister.

If they had known what would happen, Akemi would have been killed a long time ago. It was unthinkable that two sisters who grew up apart, had nothing in common, and rarely saw each other anyway would form such a close relationship. And yet they had, and now the Organization had to deal with the consequences. Gin was not _that_ surprised that Akemi had agreed to his conditions for Sherry's departure, especially since she believed it would be to Sherry's benefit, but he was not going to enjoy this as much as she thought he would. Oh, he would relish her terror and hatred of him and would take great pleasure in abusing the body that he now _knew_ had accepted Shuichi Akai's intimate touch. She wasn't a virgin, but that was hardly indicative of anything these days. No, it was that he had been her boyfriend the longest and she had not taken another lover since that clued him into that intuition. Beyond those two aspects and the physical pleasure of sex, the rest of what he had to do was just work and he had no interest in indulging on Shuichi Akai's leftovers more than he had to.

Where Gin was heading right now was to be an infinitely more pleasurable affair. He turned off the highway and continued driving in silence for several more minutes until he arrived at a different apartment complex. The building was much smaller than the one Akemi lived in, but he liked it that way. Smaller building meant a lesser possibility for unwanted prying eyes. As soon as he got out of his car, his eyes automatically sought out a single window, and he smirked when he saw a light was on behind the drapes. _She_ was waiting for him.

'Well, better not let her worry any longer than she already has,' he thought to himself as he easily took the stairs to the third floor two at a time, caution and silence completely abandoned for once.

He would chide himself for his recklessness later, but not right now. She was always so fickle in her interactions with him: hot for him one moment and cold the next, but for once, he knew _exactly_ what her reaction was going to be when she saw him at her door. She would be pleased, relieved, and worried all at once and begging him for answers and reassurances that he would be all too willing to give as long as he had her gratitude. It was a gross understatement to say he was looking forward to this meeting.

He reached the woman's apartment number and rang the doorbell, making sure to keep himself in full view of the peephole in the door. He wasn't trying to scare her. He heard movement within, a silent pause, and then the sound of a bolt lock being slid open. The door swung open and there she was: young, beautiful, auburn-haired Sherry standing in the doorway illuminated by the warm glow of the lamplight behind her. She was wearing a scarlet red skirt that cut off just above her knees and a white camisole with thin spaghetti straps that did an excellent job of showing off her shoulders and slender arms. She was wearing red and white, her best colors, and the expression on her usually stern face could be described as nothing short of joy.

"Gin, you came!" she said breathlessly, as if _she_ was the one who had just run up two flights of stairs.

Before he could say anything in response, Sherry flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly in a more tangible demonstration of her delight at his presence. Gin caught her around the waist and held her tight against him, returning her frantic kisses with equal affection and fervor. Her reaction was even better than he had expected. Unfortunately, it was shorter than he would have liked because there were other thoughts that preoccupied Sherry's mind, namely concerns for her sister's fate.

"Where's Akemi? Is she okay? Did she get away alright?" Sherry asked him as soon as she broke off the kiss.

He placed a finger upon her lips to forestall further questions and shook his head slightly. "I won't answer anything at the front door in the open like this," he warned.

She blushed in embarrassment and let him into her apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. Before he'd gone more than a few paces though, Gin glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, "May I take my shoes off?"

To his delight, Sherry blushed even deeper and gave a small nod, and he smirked. Such a question would normally be unusual in Japan where guests _always_ took their shoes off before entering another's living space, but he never did, not unless he was going to be staying longer than just a quick chat. With exception for the earlier hassle regarding Akemi, tonight was turning out to be a very good night indeed. He put on the slippers and also removed his coat while he was at it. There would be no need for him to keep up appearances while he was in Sherry's apartment.

Gin settled himself down on the couch and Sherry very quickly joined him, leaning against his right side and stroking her hands lovingly through his fine, silvery locks. He loved it when she did that and she was the only one he allowed that luxury.

"Well, are you going to tell me now? What happened to Akemi?" she repeated.

If he was going to talk about that annoying woman, then he needed a smoke. He withdrew his cigarettes and a box of matches from his pants pockets and lit up. Sherry looked mildly annoyed at him for doing so – probably because he wasn't telling her what she wanted to know – but she made no comment. He replaced the items back in his pockets and expelled the first lungful of smoke.

"Your sister was nearly killed by the person acting as the mastermind behind the one-billion-yen bank heist. She was found and arrested by the police under her alias, but one of our operatives was disguised as a police officer and was able to get her away before she could be brought to police headquarters. The rest of her accomplices are already dead and the mastermind will be soon as well. I made sure she got home safe and just came from there to update you in-person, since I knew you were worried," he explained.

The tension that had been present in Sherry's shoulders even from the moment of his arrival seemed to evaporate out of her and she slumped against him with a heavy sigh of relief. Gin was not going to mention Akemi had been shot in the shoulder. It was only a minor flesh wound and doing so would only send Sherry back into a panic about her sister's condition. Then just like that, all of her attention would once again be back on Akemi. That damn woman would be fine. If the bullet was still stuck in her, then she would either dig it out herself or go to the hospital in the morning and have _them_ dig it out, but he was confident she wouldn't tell Sherry about the bullet either. Like him, though for different reasons, she wouldn't want Sherry to worry over her.

"Thank you for telling me. I knew you were working on getting her out of that mess, but I feared the worst all the same," Sherry said quietly and Gin nodded stiffly. Akemi really was more trouble than she was worth. Sherry's head shifted on his shoulder and he could feel her eyes upon his face. He did not look down at her. "Gin? Are you angry?"

He was, and he was too angry to keep silent about the issue even if it meant he might lose Sherry's favor for the night or even the rest of the week. "Your sister is careless," he said bitterly. "First the FBI Agent and now this. That's _two_ strikes against her and you know how the Organization feels about _second_ chances. Third chances don't exist."

Sherry tensed and drew back away from him. He could just about _smell_ the terror emanating from her and he would be lying if he claimed a part of him didn't enjoy it. "But… but you just said-!"

Gin inclined his head downward, still not looking at her stricken face. "Your sister will live. I would not be sitting here telling you I took her back home myself otherwise."

"Right… that wouldn't make any sense… I'd find out soon enough anyway," she said in a quiet whisper. "I'm… I'm kind of surprised actually. When you said Akemi had two strikes against her, I wouldn't have thought they would give her-"

"-The only reason she's been given a third chance at all is because she's your sister," Gin snapped at the eighteen-year-old scientist, his green eyes blazing with cold fury. "She could stand to learn some pointers from you, Sherry. Akemi has no concept of what it means to be in the Organization or how to stay alive in it, and if she doesn't change something soon, she's going to get herself killed."

"By who? You?" Sherry demanded, her voice suddenly as icy and foreboding as his own eyes.

Gin chose not to answer her question directly, but snarled and looked away again, staring blankly at the opposite wall. "The Organization demands two things from all of its members. Secrecy and loyalty. If members don't comply with these two absolutes, then they are eliminated. I do not want to kill Akemi because I know how important she is to you, but the Organization already has a low opinion of her and sometimes the words and actions she takes are just borderline treacherous. Your sister is walking a very slippery slope."

Her hands suddenly gripped the sleeve of his green turtleneck and he glanced over at her. She was beside him again and sitting on her knees, her eyes wide and pleading. "What's she doing that's so risky? What have you heard? Gin, please! I might be able to stop her from doing whatever it is if I know."

Gin shook his head. "I haven't heard anything concrete yet," he lied smoothly. "But maybe Akemi will listen to reason if she hears it from you how her actions are being perceived by the higher-ups and how worried you are."

"Maybe…" Sherry agreed, her eyes staring blankly at her hands still stuck onto his sleeve.

Gin cocked his head to the side, observing her in silence. "Have I overstayed my welcome?"

Her eyes snapped up to his and then glanced away. "I'm not in the mood anymore…" she said, though she sounded reluctant. Or was it uncertain?

"Have I killed it completely or is it something I can bring back to life?" he asked her as he removed the cigarette from his lips and extinguished it in the empty metal ashtray sitting on the coffee table.

His right arm still held captive by her, his left hand freely glided up her right arm and splayed across her shoulder. Gin felt her lean into the contact and took it as a good sign, but did not pull her to him as she probably expected he would do. Instead, he drew his hand upward right up to the crook of her neck and purposefully ensnared his long fingers in the hair right around the area of her neck. While her hair was not even _half_ as long as his own, she seemed to enjoy having his fingers wrapped up in her own hair as much as she liked getting _her_ hands into _his_. A few massaging movements along her neck coupled with a suggestive stroke or two with his thumb along her jawline was enough to encourage her to move forward into him. One of her hands slipped to his shoulder and the other, sure enough, curled possessively into his hair.

"I should just cut my hair off to give to you as a present and see if you like me as much then," he said a laugh.

"Don't do that," Sherry chided playfully. "I like it long and this way, yours is long enough for the both of us. Besides, poor Vodka would never recognize you if you cut your hair short."

"Just because Vodka doesn't have any interest in literary, historical, or scientific knowledge, nor possess a brain capable of extreme abstract thought processes doesn't mean he's dense," Gin said, bristling with indignation for the slight against his partner and not sure he wanted this to go any further tonight if she was going to continue being disrespectful toward his subordinates.

"Maybe so, but nobody else would recognize you either," she said, completely nonplussed by his ire and her non-reaction was enough to win him over.

She knew he was someone to be feared and oftentimes, she _was_ afraid of him for good reason. But then there were times like now when she _should_ be afraid, but wasn't. It was fortunate for Sherry that he enjoyed seeing both of these sides of her. He slipped his now-freed arm around the small of her back and brought her to him for a kiss. It started slow and tender and steadily became more intense as he patiently worked to bring back her desire from earlier. It was Sherry herself who told him he had succeeded when she suddenly released his hair, clapped both hands on his cheeks, and forced her tongue past his lips and into his mouth, moaning greedily. Gin smirked. She was ready for him.

His own hands caught the hem of her camisole and lifted the stretchy material up over her stomach and then over her breasts. He hadn't expected her to be wearing a bra with the camisole, but he was pleased to see the lack of such a garment regardless. One less article of clothing to worry about. Sherry was still busying herself with his mouth, so he tweaked one of her erect pink nipples between his fingers and the reaction from her was instantaneous. A breathless gasp tore from her throat and her hands seized his hair instead. It was exactly the distraction he had been hoping for and he quickly took her other nipple in his mouth, sucking and nipping at the sensitive flesh and drawing forth all sorts of needy whines and whimpers from her. At one point, she released his hair to finish removing her camisole on her own and then hastily grabbed at his own shirt in an attempt to pull it off.

Groaning in annoyance, he stopped playing with her breasts momentarily to throw the turtleneck off himself before she ended up ripping the shirt in half out of desperation. For someone who 'hadn't been in the mood anymore' earlier, Sherry sure had gotten aroused pretty quickly. His hat flew off at the same time the shirt cleared his head and it hadn't even hit the ground yet before Sherry was upon him once more, attacking his own nipples and neck in revenge. It was a good thing he always wore turtleneck shirts; she was a very mouthy woman and had left more than her fair share of hickeys on his neck in their past trysts. He, on the other hand, preferred to work with his hands. Her current position sitting on her knees was not optimal for what he had planned though.

Gin forced his hands into the space at the back of her knees between her thighs and calves, and in allowing him to do so, she ended up sitting on her bum with her legs propped up on either side of him. Much better. He slowly trailed his hands up her thighs under her skirt and teasingly caressed her inner thighs with his fingers all the way to her groin, carefully avoiding her underwear just yet. Sherry was already a whimpering, gasping mess and he'd hardly gotten started on her, but he was hardly the unaffected meistro of this strange orchestra. Sherry wasn't the one moaning like a porn star every time she nipped and sucked at every bit of exposed skin she could get her mouth on. He wasn't going to last long tonight at all.

He drew her mouth away from his collar bone and caught her lips in a searing, bruising kiss that she responded to with enthusiasm, her hands already adjusting to grip onto his shoulders and press her breasts flush against his naked chest. Whether she intended it or not, her timing was excellent. He only had to hold the back of her head with one hand and brace himself against the couch with the other while he lowered them both into a horizontal position with Sherry on her back and him hovering over her. Looking down at her, flushed and panting with her pretty red hair lying askew about her head and her roots soaked with sweat while half-lidded blue eyes glazed over with lust gazed back up at him, Gin could not think of anything more erotic than this.

He placed a brief, rather chaste kiss on her lips and pulled back momentarily. "The condoms are still in your bathroom cabinet, right?" he said.

The words seemed to throw her off for a moment and then she frowned up at him in confusion once she'd processed what he'd said. "Well, yeah, but-"

He silenced her with another kiss, this one not quite as chaste. "I know you're already on birth control, but I'd rather not risk having you bear my child so young."

Sherry blushed as deep a red as her sister had earlier when he had said nearly the same thing, only instead of being mortified, she looked almost put-out. "I'm eighteen, you know."

He snorted in amusement. "What, and you think you're ready to be a mother now?"

She glared up at him. "No, but I'm not a little kid either."

"Sherry," he sighed, surprising even himself with the affectionate tone he used as he gently stroked his fingers through her short hair. "I've never thought of you as a little kid, not even when you first arrived from America at thirteen."

"You do realize how creepy that is, right?" she said drily, but there was no bite to her words.

A warm smile unexpectedly graced his features. It was small and clearly out-of-practice, but definitely there. "And yet, you love me anyway," he said with a chiding peck to her nose before getting up and heading to the bathroom before she distracted him further.

Yes, he could safely say that she loved him. Feared him, yes, but loved him too and it thrilled him to know that. But what of his own feelings? He was inexplicably drawn to her and desired her, but love? Knowing she loved him made him happy and thoughts of Akemi taking her away from the Organization filled him with fury. Even seeing other men eying her caused him to feel a sudden surge of emotion that felt suspiciously like jealousy. He couldn't say he'd ever been in love with a woman or anyone else, but he'd had women in every other way before now and he'd felt about the same towards all of them. Sherry was the only exception. He was willing to put up with things from her that he would ordinarily not stand for from anyone else. Perhaps it was love after all…

He found the condoms and returned with one to the living room where Sherry was lying on the couch propped up on her elbows and still half-naked. He smirked in amusement and leaned over her from the arm of the couch. Some of his hair fell from his shoulders and hung down on either side of her head. "Would you like me to finish this here or on your bed?"

Sherry, on the other hand, did not look amused at all and tugged meaningfully on the silvery strands she could reach. "You delay me much longer and I'll finish _myself_ off before you get the chance and I _won't_ finish you off either."

Gin's smirk only widened. "Understood. Clothes off."

Sherry hardly needed to be told twice. They stripped out of the rest of their clothes and undergarments and Gin wasted no time in pinning Sherry back underneath him once he'd gotten the condom on.

"I do love you, Gin," Sherry gasped out when she finally had a moment to breathe properly from their renewed lip lock.

"I know," he said, only half paying attention to what she was saying. How could she still speak coherently at a time like this? Clearly, he wasn't doing his job good enough.

"But you…? Do you…?"

Gin nearly growled at her for having the worst possible timing to have a serious conversation like this, but he managed to reign it in and moved his gaze to her earnest blue eyes. He didn't want her accusing him later of being distracted and thus insincere when he said this.

"You're my favorite, Sherry," he admitted. It was something he had considered long ago, the same way that Vermouth was the Boss's favorite, but he had never said it out loud until now. They were words that he couldn't take back and he found that he didn't want to.

Sherry, on the other hand, didn't seem to know how to respond to his answer. "So… yes?" she asked uncertainly.

He nodded. "Close enough," he said, and elaborated because she was starting to look like she might try and kill him if she could. "I've never been in love with anyone before, but you're more important to me than any other woman I've been with. I do care for you, but I can't say if it's love or not. This is the best I can agree to for now."

Sherry seemed mollified by his explanation, even pleased, and cupped his cheeks with her hands. "Then can I ask you something? About Akemi?"

It took all of Gin's willpower not to scowl at hearing that damn woman's name right in the middle of his tryst with Sherry, but somehow, he managed and even nodded to let Sherry continue with her question.

"If you hear anything more concrete about what Akemi is doing that might bring the wrath of the Organization upon her head, will you tell me? If I really am the only reason she's been allowed to live this long, then it also stands to reason that I'm the only one who'd be able to talk her out of whatever dangerous thing it is she might be getting involved in, right?"

For a brief, horrifying moment, it was not Sherry's face staring up at him, but Akemi's. He shook his head furiously and the illusion faded, except for the eyes. Right now, Sherry's eyes held that same innocent trust that he always saw in Akemi's and she was looking up at him with those eyes. She was looking to him for answers, hoping for him to reassure her that he would continue to look out for her and that she might have the power to protect her only living relative. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before and she suddenly seemed much more like the eighteen-year-old she really was. Gin realized his mouth was hanging open and he closed it. He gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes and rested his palm upon her cheek, mimicking her own hands still upon his face, and still she waited in silence for his reply.

"Yes, I will. As I said earlier, you may be the only who could talk some sense into her," Gin said, wishing as he had never wished before that he could trust her with the truth. That feeling only grew when he saw the relieved smile spread across her face and she brought him back down to her for a warm, heartfelt kiss. But the _truth_ was that as much as he cared for this young woman, he could not trust her to choose him if she was forced to make a choice between him and her sister.

Akemi didn't have to know that he had already made Sherry his favorite long ago and he knew Sherry had no intention of telling her sister she was involved with him. She rightfully guessed Akemi would not approve. Sherry was loyal to him, loved him even, despite knowing he sometimes had sexual relations with Vermouth on the side (there were just some things he couldn't do with Sherry that Vermouth was quite willing to put up with), but it angered him that he was not where Sherry's primary loyalty lay. Sherry was the most important woman in his life, but the same could not be said for her regarding himself. Akemi held that place of honor and as long as she remained as _the_ single most important person in Sherry's life, she would always pose a threat to Sherry's loyalty to the Organization. That danger would only increase if she continued to pursue this foolish escape attempt plan of hers, and especially if Sherry learned _that_ was the reason her sister was in danger.

He cared for Sherry deeply, probably too much, and he was certain that if she found out about Akemi's plan, she would only be more inclined to leave with her. She accepted her place and her work, but she did not thrive off it the way he did. He highly doubted she'd be able to persuade her sister to stay anyway, despite her words to the contrary. No, Gin was decided, and he would not let this stupid, dangerous woman stand between what he'd already claimed as his.

* * *

 _Without intending it, I managed to make both chapters about 4000 words long. I don't know how that happened. Well, as there's almost no canon to work with in regards to their past relationship, writing them is a bit of a challenge, but I'd like to think I left some seeds as to how their relationship will eventually break and die and transform into that of 'hunter and hunted with a history' that we know it to become.  
_


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